1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disk drive and an information processing apparatus which are adapted for use with an optical disk having a first recording area and a second recording area. The first recording area stores main information, and the second recording area, which is radially inward of the first recording area, stores sub information. The optical disk drive and the information processing apparatus selectively reproduce the main and sub information.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to read information from an optical disk by use of an optical pickup of an optical disk drive, the laser emitted from the objective lens of the optical pickup must reach every radial position of the disk where information is recorded. Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2001-101668 discloses an optical disk having an ordinary recording area (main information is recorded in the ordinary recording area) and a special recording area located radially inward of the ordinary recording area (sub information is recorded in the special recording area). Where such an optical disk is used, the optical pickup must emit a laser not only to the ordinary recording area where the main information is recorded but also to the special recording area where the sub information is recorded.
To widen the laser emission range and enable the sub information to be read from the special recording area, the optical pickup and disk rotating motor (spindle motor) used in the prior art have to be changed in shape. However, such an optical pickup and motor are not desirable in light of the space they require, especially in the case of a slim type optical disk drive for a notebook-type personal computer that must not occupy wide space.